L Murugan resigns from union ministry, Rajya Sabha seat, sparking furor over Cabinet reset ahead of Deepavali

L. Murugan. File | Photo Credit: Sansad TV via ANI.

Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan on Tuesday (13 October 2026) resigned from the Council of Ministers and his Rajya Sabha seat, sparking speculation of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle.

Mr Murugan hails from Tamil Nadu but represented Madhya Pradesh in the upper house. His term as an MP was only to end in 2030. The BJP’s strength in MP ensures that his vacated seat will be filled by a party MP, paving the way for a fresh induction into the Council of Ministers.

Lots of vacancies

Two other Union ministers of state, George Kurien and Ravneet Singh Bittu, have already tendered their resignations at the end of their tenure in the upper house at the end of this year. The Rajya Sabha terms of Union ministers Hardeep Puri and BL Verma will also end next month, even as the BJP got eight new faces from Uttar Pradesh in the upper house, along with one each from West Bengal and Uttarakhand. During the summer, Dharmendra Pradhan was also forced to resign as Education Minister and the post is now held by Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi as an additional charge.

There are also rumors that two other state ministers, Pankaj Choudhary and Harsh Malhotra, may put in their papers after being appointed as BJP’s Uttar Pradesh and Delhi unit chiefs, but BJP sources said “nothing is finalized yet”.

This leaves at least half a dozen ministerial beds vacant. BJP sources said there may be a cabinet reshuffle before Deepavali. This would be the first reshuffle of the Union Cabinet since Narendra Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister for his third consecutive term, with 71 ministers sworn in alongside him.

Return to Tamil Nadu

Speaking about his resignation from both the Council and the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Murugan said he wished to return to his state and prepare the party unit for the next Lok Sabha elections. “I have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing my desire to go to Tamil Nadu. I want to strengthen my party in the state and pave the way for the 2029 elections,” he said.

“Our prime minister has always taken Tamil pride to the global level… Two days ago, our honorable prime minister also visited Tamil Nadu. I witnessed the enthusiasm, love and affection of the people for him. That’s why I thought I should go there and work harder to strengthen our party. I requested the prime minister to relieve me of ministerial duties and send me to the state to strengthen the party,” he added.

Published – 13 Oct 2026 19:17 IST